There is a great personal reset afoot

#WFH: it works for many of us

Much has been written about the effects of the pandemic on the nature of work and the way we use technology. While each of these shifts has had an impact on everyday life, I wonder if we’ve also seen more subtle, personal changes. How have our values, our priorities, our thinking been transformed by the past two years?

I think there’s a greater awareness now of the role that essential workers play in everyday life. Not just our hardworking healthcare workforce but other employees who perhaps weren’t fully appreciated before: shelf fillers at supermarkets, overwhelmed staff at airports, cleaners, waiters, fruit pickers and shop assistants – all those diligent people we now realise are vital to making our society work. Suddenly the flaws and affectations of celebrities and influencers are exposed for their shallowness in a world where technical skills, hard work and community commitment are highly valued.

The issue of climate change is striking a deeper chord following drought, fires and floods, and the recent federal election results bear that out. Meanwhile, the advent of war reminds us of our exposure to the whims and obsessions of the megalomaniacal mind.

At a personal level I wonder whether the pandemic hasn’t more sharply defined boundaries. Call-centre wait music is now interrupted by statements about the need for courtesy when interacting with staff. At the recent federal election, relatively safe seats shifted to candidates whose pitches included a focus on integrity and accountability.

Events such as war, depression and pandemic prompt bigger thinking about the purpose of life, the intrinsic goodness of humanity, the need for judgment and retribution. I wonder if in post-pandemic Australia there might be scope for related concepts such as the idea of penitence leading to glorious redemption and salvation, as might be applied to refugees.

Our experience with working from home has reset the fulcrum of everyday life. No longer is our working life all about the CBD and its networking opportunities. There’s renewed focus on home and hearth; the feeling of being deeply connected to tribe and community. All of a sudden we see and value things differently; many are choosing to trade off face-to-face networking opportunities in order to remain at home. Our priorities have changed; we now see a variety of pathways to “success” such as starting a business, working from a treechange town, or better sharing household income and parenting responsibilities. There’s scope for creating even stronger communities in the future as newbies seek out local volunteering and sporting opportunities.

There is a great personal reset afoot. It is evident in the galvanising stories told within families and between friends of the jobs, the businesses, even the relationships that have been lost. But there are also joyous stories of recovery, the elation of finding a new position, the satisfaction of having stared down adversity and, through hard work, sacrifice and commitment, finding happiness and a better life on the other side. This is the stuff that leaves an impression for decades to come, that inspires a bigger thinking about right and wrong, and the importance of family, friends and community to everyday life.

The pandemic, and the two difficult years it has caused, just might be a circuit breaker with the potential to create even better communities in Australia. Out of the chaos of Covid, let us focus on carrying forward the lessons, the changed behaviours, the higher thinking that will help make our nation stronger.